There's a real snowball effect there. More followers result in more followers. Every fave or comment is a link to one's photos, which are hopefully interesting, well-captioned and tagged. Captions like "IMG_1234" won't be found by search engines.
Still, some good photos get ignored, while some WTF shots make it to the Explore gallery. Kind of like here in that respect.

Follow as many people as possible, comment on as many photos as possible. You'll soon see your views start to increase.

Thank you, sir. I figured it was probably all that. That's a good way for me to find more, better photography as well. I'm trying to get away from RP. It's not like the admins drove me away from it, either. It's just as I'm maturing and growing as a photographer I find it less attractive. Weird how that works.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mgoldman

I thought it worked the way everything works today - link your images back to FB.

I haven't done so, but I've started to follow some photographers I found via FB.

I'm not knocking linkers in general - but those that link strictly to make the front page on RP make the site less enjoyable for everyone posting. You never see those same people linking the day after...

I always liked RP vs the railroad magazine model - the best pics from ANYONE got a fair shot of being seen. Now, as I've noted in the past, linking has made RP more akin to the magazine where the only photographers seen are those with the connections (in the case of RP, the linking campaign). Fresh new talent? Have you seen Top of the last 24(s), last week....?

No such issue when linking FLICKR.

I've seen a lot of folks with success (somehow) getting their pics into groups (Amtrak, NEC, Shortlines, Creative, ect). That and making sure you have a good assortment of keywords (though, that is often what makes FLICKR so annoying - look up "Acela" and you get some kid drinking a soda ON an Acela).

I'm with you regarding FB and trains. I typically post off my timeline and in other groups (Railroad Photography, for instance). Keeps your timeline clean.

You can rearrange your photos on flickr by simply changing the upload date. That's also handy for moving an improved version or unappreciated photo to the front (very unlike here, where old uploads stay buried forever).

Posting links to your Flickr account on various message boards will slowly build your following. You are more likely to find like-minded people on those boards than they are likely to find you without the links.

And of course, unlike here, no other photographers are robbed of potential views by posting links to a Flickr page.

"Nah, I just like trains."
"Those loud things that make me late to work everyday?"
"Yeah, love em'. Like taking pictures of them every now and again."
"Why am I friends with you?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinM

Posting links to your Flickr account on various message boards will slowly build your following. You are more likely to find like-minded people on those boards than they are likely to find you without the links.

And of course, unlike here, no other photographers are robbed of potential views by posting links to a Flickr page.

If I was on any other message board besides this one, I'd probably try that. Lol.

Everyone I know on Facebook knows I'm nuts about trains and that's fine with me.

Back to the original topic, yes, following back people who follow you, follow new people and adding photos to groups will add to your Flickr views. I have 1,151 followers and because of that my photos generally get more views on Flickr than rp. I'm also approaching 7 million Flickr views total.

Everyone I know on Facebook knows I'm nuts about trains and that's fine with me.

Well, you're much younger, too. I didn't "come out" about liking trains until about 10 years ago. Yeah, nearly 40 and none of my friends knew of my wierd interest. For a long time I actually thought I was the only one. So, it's much easier to share that kind of stuff when you're young like yourself.

__________________.
Rhymes with slice, rice and mice, and probably should be spelled like "Tice."

So, it's much easier to share that kind of stuff when you're young like yourself.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one. This generation is caught up in texting, Yolo, Luke Bryan, hashtags, and trying to get Bernie Sanders to give them free s***.

So if I were to go up to some of my friends and say, "Hey, I'm gonna go watch some trains," I probably wouldn't have friends anymore. Granted, I don't hang out with hardly anyone like that......or of that age group now that I think about it, you can see my point.

I do post my scenery and wildlife photos on Facebook (which I'm better at than railroad photography), but that's not seen as strange.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mberry

Back to the original topic, yes, following back people who follow you, follow new people and adding photos to groups will add to your Flickr views. I have 1,151 followers and because of that my photos generally get more views on Flickr than rp. I'm also approaching 7 million Flickr views total.

That sounds like that will probably be the best way for me. It's gonna take some time to follow that many damn people but like I said earlier, that is a great way to see some great photography.

Well, you're much younger, too. I didn't "come out" about liking trains until about 10 years ago. Yeah, nearly 40 and none of my friends knew of my wierd interest. For a long time I actually thought I was the only one. So, it's much easier to share that kind of stuff when you're young like yourself.

One thing I have noticed is that the photos I look at on Flickr are infinitely times better than the ones on here. I don't know if better photogs choose Flickr or what, but the amount of pictures I see that I just have to stop and look at are much higher than RP.

Flickr.com accepts full size photos. In reality there is some compression but you can see the difference in photostreams of photographers who have either started or stopped downsizing photos. (Many don't bother downsizing anymore Flickr.com has possibly almost ruined the market for trading images.) 1200*800 pixel resolution on RPN is now probably archaic. Compare with www.trainspo.com which has auto downsize function (a bit like Facebook but higher resolution.) Click on image to bring full size like Flickr. That site has a lower standard of screening though and European bias. Where I think Flickr really shines is the big country train scenes. Compare Mike Danneman's work on Flickr vs RPN, for example. Watch that you don't get flickn addicted!